Queen Serenity's Story
by groundedreamer
Summary: We know the story of Usagi  a.k.a. Serena , but what about her mother's? What kind of person was Queen Serenity? Who were her guardians? Who was Usagi's father? And what were the exact events that lead of to the fall of the Moon Kingdom? R&R Please!
1. Preface

Hey guys! This is the Preface to my fanfiction. Short I know, but it's actually pretty important. Quick note, this is Queen Serenity speaking, not Princess Serenity (Usagi). It would make my whole life a lot easier if they weren't all name Serenity! XD Review please!

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"_If only…..if only I could have done something….if only I could have stopped her, then my Serenity would have been safe…."_ One unknown tear slipped down her face.

_"Be safe Serenity.",_ the Queen whispered her last words.

_"Oh, something warm…."_


	2. Chapter 1

Okay, I think I have the hang of this now! :D So *drumrolls* 1st chapter! Yay! Ooo right, note on the names. Serenity's mother's (I will from here on out refer to her as Serenity since the her daughter the Serenity we know(ahh too many Serenitys! o Chibiusa's name is Serenity too XP) hasn't been born yet) is Queen Xaphania, pronunciation goes a little like this - Zaa(the a makes the long a sound)-pha(this a makes the long a sound too, like ahhh)-ni (like nii-chan, execpt the 'i' isn't as long) -ya (when you say it all together you get the 'ya' sound) Xaphania! Artemis and Luna are here because if you remember she's the one who sent them forward in time with Serenity to help her out. And in my story they were Queen Xaphania's Guardians too, and now that's she's Queen they guard over the new princess. They were born from the moon so they never die, I'm pretty sure Xaphania's grandmother found them when she became Queen of the Moon and took them into nurture them, and they just stayed with her. Ramblings aside, read and enjoy the story! And if you have any comments or critiques, please review! Thanks! :)

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_ Eons and eons ago when the Moon and the Earth were still friends, there lived a_

_ princess. This princess was kind and good, and had the very light of the Moon_

_ within her. She was meant to take the throne after her mother; Queen Xaphania,_

_ but there were opposing forces who didn't necessarily approve of young Serenity,_

_ forces who didn't "approve" of the Moon Kingdom. Chaotic forces that might just_

_ want to wipe out the entire Moon Kingdom and have darkness reign supreme…_

"Mother, must I?", Serenity asked.

"Serenity, it's you duty", Xaphania explained for the hundredth time.

"I'd rather be on Earth…", Serenity mumbled.

"You'd _always_ rather be on Earth", Queen Xaphania said exasperatedly as she brushed through Serenity's long silver hair.

"Because at least it's interesting there."

"It's plenty interesting here and tonight's going to be great."

"Yeah, with a bunch of stuffy old boring people who can't say anything but "Of course your highness", Serenity's voice turned mocking.

Xaphania opened her mouth to say something, but then Serenity's bedroom door suddenly opened and a handsome white cat lightly stepped in.

"Are you ready yet?" he asked with annoyance.

"Just a minute Artemis", the Queen said. She picked up a few strands of pearls and started deftly weaving them in Serenity's hair.

"Artemis!" a shrill call came through the open doorway. Another cat slipped into the room, like Artemis, except she was black as the inky night sky and they both shared the golden crescents on their foreheads. "Really, you look dreadful, Queen Xaphania I'm surprised you haven't banished him yet."  
"Heheh, Luna…", Artemis furiously scratched his ear in embarrassment. Serenity giggled.  
"I knew that would make you feel better." Luna smiled up at the princess. "Come on Artemis, we'd best be going", Luna padded out of the room with Artemis on her tail. As they left, Serenity and Xaphania heard Artemis asking Luna, "Do I really look that bad?"  
"Oh, Artemis…", Serenity could practically hear Luna shaking her head.

"Well, now that that's over…", Xaphania said, turning back to Serenity with a slight smile on her face. "Alright," Xaphania helped Serenity up, putting her hands on her shoulders, she said, "Remember, you're to be on your best behavior, and either Luna or Artemis should be with you or near you at all times-", Serenity made a face, "At all times?"

"Yes at _all_ times, and be _nice_, there are suitors here today", Xaphania mumbled the last part; waiting for her daughter's reaction.

"Suitors?" Serenity said aghast. "Mother, suitors? You can't be serous? I'm not old enough for marriage!" she cried.

"Serenity, you are sixteen years old now, almost ready to take the throne, you will need someone by your side; a king."

"But Mother, I'm just-", Serenity started.

"Please, Serenity, please try," Xaphania pleaded, gazing earnestly into Serenity's ocean-blue eyes, "for me, please…"  
Serenity sighed and gave in, "Fine, for you."  
"Thank-you, now come, it's time", the Queen took the Princess by the hand and led her down the hall towards the ballroom.

The Queen looked down at her Serenity's small, determined face. She sighed, _I wish…I wish there was something I could do, something to make this easier. She has such a hard fate to face, I wish I could do something to make my Serenity's future a little easier. Maybe the Silver Crystal will help. Oh I do hope so..._ The Queen shot another worried glance at her daughter, but Serenity didn't notice.

They had reached the top of the marble staircase and the murmur of conversation was making its way up to them. Serenity's hand unconsciously tightened on her mother's.  
"You'll do fine, you'll see", Xaphania whispered reassuringly. Serenity glanced up at her mother's face, fear easily discernible in her big blue eyes, she looked as if she was having a hard time not throwing up.  
Xaphania smiled gently and suddenly pulled her daughter into an embrace. Serenity was startled for a moment, but soon relaxed into her mother's familiar warmth.  
"Please, be safe Serenity", the Queen whispered in Serenity's ear. She pulled away and looked at her with unshed tears in her eyes and touched Serenity's cheek briefly and quickly turned to leave.

_What? What was that supposed to mean? "Be safe…" Was something going to happ-_  
_"AND THE CROWN PRINCESS OF THE MOON KINGDOM, PRINCESS SERENITY!"_ boomed a voice.  
_Okay, okay I can do this_, thought Serenity as she descended the marble stairs,_ just smile and look pretty, smile and look pretty and maybe those idiots will go away….on second thought…._


	3. Chapter 2

In the White Moon's shadow on the Dark Moon, the Prince was lounging in his 4-poster bed absent-mindedly picking apart a rose, watching the petals fall to the ground. There was a timid knock on the door and a servant peeked his head in looking frightened.  
"Sir, your mother has requested an audience with you."  
"Fine", he said in a bored tone, "Where is she?"  
"In the throne room sire", informed the servant.  
"Alright.", he continued with his uninterested tone. Casually he threw aside the rose he was picking apart and jumped off his bed. He fastened his favorite cloak, midnight blue with silver edging, and walked towards the door. He clasped the servant's shoulder and said, "Thank you, now _relax_." The Prince slightly shook him and walked out of the room. The servant shook his head and followed the young man, "But sir, she seems to be in a nasty mood today.", he said wringing his hands.  
The Prince laughed humorlessly, "Isn't she always Adrian? Besides I can take care of myself now."  
"But she seemed to be in a particularly nasty mood today though sir.", Adrian looked up at the Prince with worried eyes.  
"It's all right, even if she is, she wouldn't show it."  
"But sir-"  
"It'll be okay.", the Prince gave Adrian a slight friendly smile and turned and pushed the throne room door open to meet his fate. Adrian looked worriedly after him, hoping that everything would go well.

The throne room was dark and had a slightly dank, musty smell to it. It was bleak and high- ceilinged. The only light that was emitted was by the dark crystal. It threw its energy around the room in bursts of purple light. The Prince's eyes flitted around the room as he took in the ranks of advisors flanking the walls. _'This must be very important'_ he thought, _'everyone's here.'_  
A snicker broke through the silence. "Oh look otouto-chan has decided to come and play.", a high soprano voice quietly jeered. The Prince's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he walked past her towards his mother _'Ruby'_.  
"Nikolaos, my son, you have arrived."  
"Yes Mother", Nikolaos said bending down on one knee.  
"Now we may begin." Ruby snorted derisively in the background. "As I was saying, this is the perfect time to overthrow the Moon Kingdom. They are in the middle of a transfer of power, Xaphania is readying the next heir to take the throne.", Metallia explained. She was at the center of attention, the dark crystal's energy crackled around her, giving her an eerie aura in the dark greenish light.

_Metallia was not a person; she didn't have a natural human form. She was an_

_entity, and evil entity occupying a husk of a discarded human soul. Her form was_

_sustained by the energy of the Dark Crystal. The Dark Crystal had taken host in_

_her body at their last defeat at the end of the Sailor Wars. It had stayed that way_

_ever since, and she did not try and defuse from it, the power of the Crystal was_

_too intoxicating. At first she took the Crystal for her master, Chaos, but she had_

_gotten used to the power of the Crystal coursing though her veins and longed to_

_become more powerful. During the Sailor Wars her energy was at its peak. She_

_had almost ruled the entire __**universe**__ in her—Chaos' name! Then that  
wretch_

_Galaxia sealed away her master and his power. After millons of years brooding and_

_waiting, she had finally seen a new light, the pure undefeatable light of the Silver_

_Crystal. Its power surpassed even the Dark Crystal! Just imagine what she could_

_accomplish with its power! She had carefully laid out a plan and sat back on her_

_haunches in the shadows to wait, Her time had finally come and now she had her_

_son . . ._

"If we could prevent the young Princess from taking the throne, then the Moon Kingdom would be powerless to stop us. Once Serenity's dead, dear old Xaphania will crack and become unstable and she won't be able to use the Silver Crystal to defend the Moon Kingdom," her voice echoed through the room. "We'll be able to attack without resistance," Metallia concluded. Everyone in the room was motionless, listening to her words in rapt silence.  
"But your Highness, how do you propose we enter the Moon Kingdom? It would be high near impossible to breach their security systems", burst out an advisor from his corner.  
"Patience Zathaya, was I not getting to that?" Metallia said silkily.  
"Of course ma'am," he said slinking back into his shadows.  
"I propose we send someone new, someone untried in the field," she licked her lips, "yet someone with skill, strength, power, and cunning." Extending her claw like hand, she gestured to her son, "someone like _him_."  
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	4. Chapter 3

Notes: They swear a few times, as in they say Hell and Damn twice, and that's it. There is one ify part in this, and just wanted to give you peoples a heads-up, it's not bad enough for mature content, because frankly i'm too innocent to even know about that stuff and let alone write about it, so don't think i'm some perv, but it's important to understand her character and how she works, how she plays up one thing, but is actually another.

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Nikolaos stood in shock, gaping at his mother, before remembering where he was and who was watching. He quickly closed his mouth and tried to reassemble his features into a bored and uninterested facade, only his eyes gave him away, which were glittering in anticipation.

"But your majesty-", protested a voice, cutting through Nikolaos' fantasies abruptly. "-Your majesty," Ruby went on," you can't expect this boy, this, this, this child," she spluttered," to be able to take on a mission of this high importance, What if something goes wrong, what if that juvenile makes some mistake that cost us the whole mission?" she paused," Your majesty," Ruby said, kneeling to the floor on one knee. She placed her left fist against her heart and gravely said," Highness, I Ruby Ieyasu would be honored to do this mission for you in place of your son." Her flame-colored eyes flashed to Nikolaos, who was looking murderous, fists clenched at his sides.

"Ruby, do you mean to insult me and my son?" Metallia asked shrewdly. She was lightly tapping her bony fingers against her face and was appraising Ruby with an unfathomable expression.

She gasped and looked up with a horrified expression at Metallia, fear reading clearly in her fiery red eyes. "Highness, no, no, never would I dare to insult you or Prince Nikolaos," she felt beads of sweat form on her brow from Metallia's unwavering stare. "I only meant that he was unsuitable for this kind of mission, that this was too important to your highness for it to be ruined, but to insult her highness or her son, never, never would I even dream of it my Queen", Ruby's breaths had become ever shallower as she flustered to apologize to her Queen. The tension in the room mounted as Metallia stared at Ruby with a hint of amusement in her eyes. All the other advisers flanking the room thought she was done for, that she went too far, and had said too much.

Metallia stretched out the silence a little longer, then broke it by chuckling. "Stop groveling Ruby, you and I both know what goes on after you leave this room." Ruby flushed and clenched her fist. "But," she said, still with that hint of amusement in her eye," If you do dare to question my judgment in the future, you can be sure that I won't be so forgiving" Metallia finished with a steely look in her icy dark violet eyes.

The tension in the room lowered considerably and Ruby unconsciously let out a small sigh of relief," Of, course Highness", she said and took her place against the wall with the other high ranking advisers.

"So my son, are you willing to take the job?" Metallia asked, eyes boring though Nikolaos to a place deep within him.

"Of course Mother, I accept this challenge with pride and honor", Nikolaos said, bowing. "Nikolaos," Metallia's voice turned serious and grave,"Remember, I am entrusting you with this mission because you are my son and I believe that you have the power to accomplish this. It is extremely important to succeed. Succeed, or die trying." She finished, her eyes icy and her voice just as hard. "You leave tonight."

"Of course mother," he said bowing again, then turned and swept out of the room.

"The rest of you are dismissed."

Nikolaos picked up is pace as he heard soft foot steps behind him. He quickly reached the doors first and flung them open, trying to escape what he knew was coming.

"Oh, Nikky!" a high pitched soprano voice called after him. _No, no_ he thought _please have mercy_ "Nikky you're walking too fast! I can't keep up!" Then he felt two pairs of ice-cold hands snake up behind his neck and cover his eyes, then he heard an annoyingly high pitched giggle. He took a deep breath, _breathe_ he told himself, _just breathe_. He pried her hands away form his face and flung them down to her sides,"Ruby will you get the hell away from me?" he growled.

"Nikky, you never let me congratulate you, you ran off so fast!" She pouted, her eyes sparkling with childish delight.

Nikolaos exhaled sharply and snapped at her," I thought I told you never to call me Nikky."

Ruby pouted sticking her bottom lip out comically, then in a more flirtatious tone," Aww Nikky you're so cute when you're angry," she said and ran her hand slowly through his hair," all alone in that big room of yours, a guy like you needs to go out more and have some fun," she implied coyly, running her forefinger down the side of his face and jaw toward his chin. "Maybe-," she said starting to move closer to his lips," we can-"

Nikolaos jerked his head out of her grip, "Get the hell _away_ form me!" Nikolaos said roughly, shoving her into a nearby wall.

Ruby calmly dusted herself off and came toward him again. She took his face in her iron-clad grip again, not to pull him closer, but to make sure he heard her every word.

Her voice completely lost any playfulness and became deadly." You better watch your step Nikky, if something _accidentally_ happens to ruin your mission, mummy wouldn't like it very much would she?" she said making a face at him. "Just because you're her favorite, doesn't mean I'll tolerate you. One mistake and that mission is mine," he could see that she was dead serious, but suddenly the coyness came back into her eyes," you better watch your step Nikky." she threatened playfully, but Nikolaos could hear the warning underneath he spat, "Screw you Ruby." She smirked and let go of his chin and all but skipped down the hallway. Then she suddenly stopped and stared back at him with a thoughtful expression in her now tawny eyes," Ya know," she said in her childish voice again," if you wanted to accept my offer, I would be happy to oblige," she grinned coquettishly and added a wink before turning and skipping down the hall.

Nikolaos stood dumbfounded for a moment,"Damn her," he growled," she changes tact so quickly, I wouldn't put it past her to try and sabotage." Nikolaos abruptly turned on his heel and began to walk in the opposite direction.

"How hard could it be to kill one stupid defenseless girl? That'd show that damn Ruby." he lapsed into silence contemplating ways to exterminate the princess. Chuckling darkly to himself, he stepped out into the night and vanished on the spot.

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**Review please!**


	5. Chapter 4

Serenity gazed around the room open-mouthed at the lavish decorations. Momentarily, she forgot about the multitudes of people surrounding her, talking and laughing in their fancy dresses and suits. There was a large chandelier hanging in the middle of the room, winking and glittering as it caught the light from around the room. Rainbows were thrown around the room by the crystals hanging at its base. Glittering lamps were lit all around the room, giving it a warm inviting glow. The flowers placed at strategic intervals were giving off an intoxicating scent, filling the room.

A warm breeze lifted Serenity's hair slightly off her forehead, revealing a golden crescent moon on her forehead, the mark of the moon dynasty. Serenity closed her eyes for a moment enjoying the gentle breeze on her forehead. The source of the breeze was from many giant glided double doors that were thrown wide open every few feet or so. Through them you could see the expansive gardens below, and above them was the inky night black sky, strewn with tiny twinkling stars. In the middle you could see a small blue and white ball, Earth. Earth caught Serenity's eye more than anything else in the whole room. She let out a small sigh and gazed enraptured at the night sky and all of its far away mysteries. She was so preoccupied with her fantasies of Earth that she didn't realize someone was talking to her.

"_Princess_!" a voice said loudly, shaking her out of her stupor. Serenity jumped, suddenly remembering where she was and whirled around, heart pounding.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, hastily pasting a welcoming smile and flusteredly smoothing down the front of her dress. "Hello," she said offering her hand to the young man.

The stranger took it and lightly brushed his lips against it. "Hello Princess," he murmured. He was tall and had a pale look to him, as though he spent most of his time indoors and in the dark. His dark brown hair fell elegantly into his eyes, which were the most curious shade of purple. They were deep, dark, and looked fathomless. Serenity could feel herself falling into them, and abruptly broke her gaze and sank into a curtsy.

She straightened up and tried to hold herself in a graceful and stately way. She suddenly felt a strong desire to impress this strange man.

"Princess," he said in a warm, low voice. Serenity unconsciously felt shivers go down her spine at his rich voice.

Xaphania watched at a distance as an unknown young man bowed slightly and offered his hand to her daughter questioningly. She studied them with unfathomable eyes. Her daughter, standing up straight, determination glinting in her blue eyes, but with a pleasurable flush creeping into her cheeks. And at this young man, who now asked, she knew for more than a dance. She turned away, expressionless. The King came up behind Xaphania and followed her line of sight to see his daughter. He stared at her with the same expressionless eyes, whispered assurance in Xaphania's ear and they both turned away to mingle with their guests.

The young man's hand was outstretched, his eyes questioning, "Princess would you like to dance with me?"

Serenity looked at the young man's outstretched hand, she reached out to take it when she suddenly pulled it back against her chest. "Who-who are you?" she asked, her big blue eyes staring into his violet ones warily.

His lips twisted into a smile that did not reach his eyes, "Nikolaos."


	6. Chapter 5

He had her! A few more moments and she was his!

_It had been fairly easy to pass the guards and enter the castle surreptitiously._ _All he had had to do was confuse them with a bit of dark energy and no one was the wiser._ _These moon-idiots couldn't even stand a bit of dark energy_, he snorted, _weak that's what they were. And-_

Nikolaos stopped sneering and refocused on his mission. To find the Princess and exterminate her. He craned his head above the crowd to try and spot the Moon Princess.

_How was he to do it_, he wondered. _His mother had told him to kill her. He had never intentionally hurt anyone that bad before._ _Of course he was just as nasty as the next person, but killing some one seemed...a bit harsh..._ Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a vivid red mane of hair and fury quickly ignited within him again. But before he could focus upon it, it whipped out of sight.

_Ruby?_, he thought furiously. _What was she doing here?_

"Sabotage", Nikolaos hissed the word. _She was here to watch him fail._ _He would not fail, he would show them that he was just as capable as the most dangerous assassins the Dark Kingdom had._

From behind a pillar Ruby let out a deep breath. She had thought for one moment that Nikolaos had seen her. She had been watching him look for the princess and saw the uncertainty dawning on his face. Her fists clenched, _Damnit_, she thought, if that idiot gets cold feet now, he'll ruin the entire plan, and we'd never have another chance at this! Then she realized that she had been stationary for more than a minute and felt her heart jump when Nikolaos' eyes landed on her. She quickly ducked behind a large, elderly man with a spectacular handlebar mustache and sneaked off behind a pillar.

She would have to be more careful next time. Leaning back against the pillar, she closed her eyes and focused n the energy flowing just beneath her skin. She felt the rhythm of it pounding through her veins, and slowly formed an image in her head and willed it into existence. When she opened her eyes she was now an inch or so taller with a more pleasing voluptuous figure. Her vivid red hair had changed to a gleaming waist length chestnut brown that caught the light spectacularly, and enchanting deep brown eyes that could hypnotize easily. She glanced around herself quickly and checked to see if anyone had been watching. It didn't seem like it, the shadows had hidden her well. She stepped out gracefully from behind the pillar and resumed her careful watch of Nikolaos.

Nikolaos had swiftly shaken off his brief scare and continued to look for the Princess. Form the corner of his eye he spotted a girl with silvery floor length hair. There were milky white pearls woven in her hair that glistened as they caught the light and accentuated the pale silver almost translucent quality of her hair. She was just standing there a dreamy expression on her face, her mouth slightly ajar, completely oblivious to the milling crowd of people around her. She was staring up at the sky outside of the giant double-doors enthralled. Nikolaos suddenly had a strange urge to laugh, knowing it would incense her, but making it all the funnier.

He smiled a bit and watched her enjoy the breeze stirring the hem of her white dress. Suddenly a stronger breeze hit her and she closed her eyes in delight as the wind blew her bangs off her face. Nikolaos froze as he glimpsed what was hidden beneath her bangs, a golden crescent moon. This girl was the princess.

He was still standing frozen, completely taken aback when he realized that he still had a job to. Nikolaos took a deep breath and steeled himself. He walked purposefully toward her, intending to end the matter as soon as possible.

"Hello Princess," Nikolaos said warmly, expecting her to turn and greet him, but she did not. She didn't even seem to hear him. "Princess?" he asked. Again she showed no sign of having heard him. Was she deaf? Addled brain? _"Princess"_, Nikolaos said again irritably. He had a mad desire to wave his hand back and forth in front of her face to see if she was even alive. _**"Princess"**_ he finally snapped. Suddenly, she jumped, showing signs of life. _Finally_, he thought vexed, _about time_.

"Oh!" she gasped, the Prince restrained himself from rolling his eyes with difficulty. _Idiot_. She was hurriedly trying to smooth her dress and hitched a fake smile on her face. "Hello."

Nikolaos smiled a small grim smile and took the hand she was offering. he brushed his lips lightly against it and quietly mummered a hello in response.

He straightened up haughtily and looked into Serenity's face, examining her. He could clearly see the offending Golden Crescent mark on her forehead now that he was closer. _She was much shorter than him, maybe a head and a half and didn't look very Princess-like_, he thought reproachfully. _Are we sure she's the real Princess?_

One notable thing was her eyes, they were a beautiful deep blue and looked endless, but Nikolaos thought the depth was marred by the innocence they clearly showed. _Her head looks pretty empty_, he thought. They stared into each others' eyes a little longer until she seemed to regain herself and broke their gaze to sink into a curtsy.

Then she straightened up, her back now ramrod straight, the innocence in her eyes overshadowed by determination. He got the impression that she realized he didn't think she was very princess-like. He raised an eyebrow and bowed slightly to ask her for a dance. _Her life would be ending soon_, he thought carelessly, _and then there would be no need to impress._

"Princess, would you like to dance with me?" Nikolaos asked in a low voice and stretched out his hand to her, a friendly smile playing on his lips.

Her eyes flicked back from his out-stretched hand to his face. He could see uncertainty warring with consent in her eyes as she slowly stretched out her hand toward his. His palm was tingling with anticipation. He was egging her on with his mind, _go on_, he thought eagerly, _take my hand_. Some of his wild excitement may have shown up in his eyes because suddenly she had pulled her hand away and was staring up into his eyes, scared and wary. He heard her voice, soft as a whisper, ask him," Who-who are you?" Nikolaos smiled, _so the brat was not as unintelligent as she seemed._

"Nikolaos,"he said simply.

The tight lines around Serenity's eyes became more relaxed and this time she reached out to take his hand more confidently. _Yes_, he thought, _yes!_ He leered even wider, but just when she was about to touch his hand, out of nowhere four girls crashed into Serenity and knocked Nikolaos' hand out of the way. The four new girls had their arms around Serenity as they all embraced her enthusiastically. Nikolaos' eyes tightened as he watched Serenity being pulled into the center of the group. All of them were talking excitedly and laughing. Nikolaos was driven almost completely out of Serenity's mind as she realized who had greeted her so enthusiastically.

_Abominations_, Nikolaos thought bitterly. Just when he had had her too. He would have to waste time waiting for Serenity to be alone again.

Nikolaos turned away disgustedly and vanished into the crowd. Serenity's ocean blue eyes were still watching him as she turned to excitedly greet her friends.


	7. Chapter 6

Serenity watched him go, the tension in her chest abating even as she felt a small twinge of sadness that he would leave her so unceremoniously. She started a little when the babble of noise broke through to her, slightly bewildered.

"So who was he?" a black-haired girl was demanding, her hands on her hips. Intense gray-blue eyes were boring into Serenity's. Serenity shrugged with a faint smile not really knowing herself.

"He was kind of creepy," a wide eyed girl with auburn hair remarked. She moved behind Serenity wrapping her arms around her and resting her chin on Serenity's shoulder. "But handsome," she said quietly commenting on what she had observed.

"Mmhm...yeah, I suppose," Serenity mumbled unintelligibly, examining her fingernails. Her eyes flicked up searching for Nikolaos. Not finding him she glanced back at her friend hanging off her shoulder. "So...uhh," she started, looking for a new topic to talk about. Her eyes fell on an empty space between two of the girls. "Epsilon, where's Vega?" she asked glancing at the auburn haired girl. She looked around again, sure she had just seen the other auburn haired twin a second earlier.

"I think she's found a new friend," the black haired girl said, grinning. She was pointing at a couple dancing. The four girls turned to look at a pretty girl in yellow whirling around in the arms of an awestruck looking duke. She spotted them and waved, laughing, her cheeks flushed with excitement. The black haired girl, always reckless, opened her mouth to shout, intending to embarrass her friend, but paused mid-shout when she felt cool fingers on her forearm.

"Sirius," a soft voice called her name. Sirius reluctantly turned to face the speaker. It was the fourth girl, standing quietly at the edge of the group until now. She had pale, pale silver hair, like Serenity's, but lighter, paler, almost translucent. On closer inspection, one could almost see _through_ her hair. It flowed like water, moving to its own rhythm. Her eyes were the palest of blue, almost clear. Everything about this girl was pale. She seemed to emit an ethereal glow, easily spotted everywhere. She seemed almost a ghost, unattainable, slipping through your fingers like smoke. This young woman was often mistaken for the Moon Princess. Now she was smiling gently, "I think that would be a little rude."

"Yeah, but she completely ditched us," mumbled Sirius, reproved. The silver haired girl laughed quietly, the sound of falling stars. Serenity laughed with her and took her hand, squeezing it gently she said, "I've missed you Polaris." The silver haired girl, Polaris gave her a dazzling smile and a brief, cool hug. She was a gentle creature and just as kind, but a fierce and worthy adversary on the battlefield.

"I'm glad we found you," she said in a soft voice," I was starting to think I'd have to spend all night with these three!" Polaris laughed again. Serenity started to say something, but stopped abruptly, grabbing Sirius' hand, she began pulling her toward the food table, "I'm hungry," she claimed, "let's get food."

"Really?" Epsilon raised her eyebrows following them, "It's been what, two hours since you last pigged out?"

"Hey!" Serenity said defensively, knitting her eyebrows together she threw a casual look behind her, "It takes energy to deal with people. Hence the need for food. And it's the only time my mother will let me eat good food anyway. I have to take advantage of it while I can!" They had reached the food table. Serenity eyed everything hungrily. Her face fell slightly as she scanned the table looking for something suitable to eat. Food wasn't the only thing on her mind, though it was true she did like food more than the average person. She thought she had seen a dark haired young man near the table and had wanted a closer look. It hadn't been him though. This man was much too tall and his hair had been a different color. It had been her mother's friend, Chancellor Sydney Evermondé. The four girls chose their snacks, Serenity biting into her's with dampened enthusiasm, to indulge themselves on before standing near the wall to chat. They were all talking animatedly and laughing, pointing out some of the more ridiculous dresses some women were wearing.

Artemis had come by and joined them too. He was resting contentedly in Serenity's arms watching people walk by as she talked to Polaris. Soon a young man, a good friend of Polaris' by the name of Derrick interrupted their conversation to ask her to dance. She glanced at Sirius quickly who smiled and made small encouraging motions with her hands. Polaris gave Sirius a small smile and took Derrick's arm walking onto the dance floor. Sirius stared after them morosely. After a minute or so of distracted conversation, she wandered off near the dance floor, joining Polaris and Derrick, looking for her own partner so she could join the dance. Serenity and Epsilon were left. The two chatted amiably until another young man-Count Ulick-came over to the both of them. He greeted Serenity respectfully, but bowed to Epsilon, requesting her hand in a dance. Epsilon hesitated, not wanting to leave Serenity alone, but Serenity smiled and urged her to go, pushing her out into the dance floor, happy her friend had found a partner. Epsilon left, glancing back occasionally at Serenity, a lonely figure against the wall.

Serenity stood against the wall, contenting herself to stroking Artemis and watching various people whirl by her as they danced. She was staring off into the distance absorbed in her own thoughts, but caught Artemis glancing up at her a few times, a slightly worried look on his face. She chuckled a bit to herself, _it was okay_, she thought _I'm always alone anyway, it doesn't make much of a difference. I'm used to it_.

"It's alright you know," Serenity said, intercepting another look from Artemis. He turned his head the other way, not seeming too convinced, but not arguing with her. She laughed to herself again. _It was always this way. They all think I'm sad or something, but I'm not, honest. It's always been like this, I'm used it now. And besides is something like having a lover really important anyway? I mean, I have my family and my friends and so many other people I love. Do I really need someone else to love me? I always feel alone though. Am I really that ordinary? So ordinary that I become a part of the wall or furniture? I mean, people talk to Epsilon and Vega. Sirius and Polaris have each other, but am I really that unwanted? Well, there really is nothing about me that special anyway. Nothing really worth wanting or fighting for. Epsilon Vega, Polaris, and Sirius are all so amazing. They're all so talented and special, and really, compared to them I'm nothing. I couldn't be anything if I wanted to be. I guess I'm really not worth anything then. It kind of makes me sad. But I do have my family and friends. It shouldn't matter anyway. You don't necessarily need that to complete your life. And I shouldn't feel petty anyway, it's unbecoming. I love all of them dearly and my life wouldn't be the same without them. It's completely shameful to think of them that way, I should love them all the more for it._ Serenity stood there, trying to convince herself that it didn't matter, but she couldn't let it go. It was always there, in the back of her mind, _maybe no one would ever want me_.


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Chapter 7! yay! So what did you guys think?**

**New character= Chiharu Ayuzawa (鮎沢 千春) the kanji is last name 1st and first name after. His name is actually feminine, but it being used for him, there is a good reason! His name means '1000 springs' and there's a good reason for that too! He likes to go by Haru (春) which just means 'spring' because it's a more masculine name and he hates being called Chiharu because he thinks it's too girly and soft. Serenity and the girls can call him Chiharu though because he's known them since they were little, but everyone else calls him Haru(if you do call him Chiharu, it's like asking for a fight ). Serenity calls him 'Chi-chan" which is a kind of nickname for Chiharu, she would call him just 'Haru-chan', but she's in the habit of calling him 'Chi-chan' and there's a story for this too. He's 3 almost 4 years older than Serenity, so he's 19 almost 20 and he's one of her best friends and has known her since she was born. Their parents are family friends and he has a high status on the moon. He was born near the 1st day of spring. I'll tell you the exact date later . He likes cookies (chocolate chip) and food and making fun of Serenity, all the time. He's also very energetic and loose. He's laid-back too. Oh and I didn't make his hair messy to make him sexy, I didn't it because he's too lazy to brush his hair(or so he says) :P. I'll do a likes and dislikes next chapter for everyone. **

**The name he calls Serenity is Tsukiko (月子) and it literally means "moon child". Kind of obvious why he calls her that, but it was also used to annoy her when she was younger, and now it's turned into a nickname. There's a back-story for this too ^^ He only calls her Serenity when he's really mad at her. **:D

**I'm going to try a new way of updating these things by trying to write a chapter ahead so if I miss a date, I'll have something to submit. So to be able to start on this, I'm going to call a mini-hiatus until the Saturday of Thanksgiving and after that until Christmas. **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

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Serenity was roaming around once more, bored again. She was aiming for the other side of the room near one of the giant double doors. As she walked, she stopped and talked with a few people she knew, trying to seem cheerful. The people were excited and chatty. Normally would have prolonged the conversations, but she wasn't in the mood to pursue them tonight, so she made do with polite responses and excuses so she could move on as quickly as possible without seeming rude.

Unbeknownst to her Artemis was following her. Haven given up on trying to get her attention, he darted through the crowd, trying to avoid being stepped on. He managed to slip through their legs, startling quite a few ladies in the process, so he could get to where Serenity was.

She had been standing to the side, silently being lectured by her conscience (which suspiciously sounded like a combination of her mother's and Sirius's voices) about her duty, etiquette, social grace, and many other things until her head was pounding with the weight of the combined attack. Serenity groaned internally. Rolling her eyes, she sighed and moved forward to dive into the fray again when suddenly she heard a feral "!" behind her. Before she could turn around she felt something soft slam into her neck and ten sharp claws latch onto her scalp.

"Oww!" she cried. "Artemis! Get off me!"

"It's-not-my-fault," he panted, still scrabbling to get a hold, "you moved!"

"Why'd you jump anyway?" she asked, wincing as tears came to her eyes.

"You wouldn't-pay-attention!" Artemis growled, "so I thought-I'd just-."

"Maul me?" Serenity finished for him, "Hold still for a moment!" She felt him go limp in compliance, but the pain in her scalp sharpened as Artemis got a better hold on her.

"Alright kitty time to let go." Serenity felt a feather-light touch brush against the back of her neck for a moment before Artemis's weight (and claws) were lifted off of her. She sighed in relief and gingerly touched he spots Artemis's claws had dug in. There didn't seem to be any blood, but she was sure the marks would last for a few hours. _She couldn't wait to explain this mishap to her mother..._ Serenity turned to thank the person who had helped her and was greeted by a mop of messy blond hair and a pair of warm brown eyes that were lit with a mischievous glint.

"Still having issues aren't ya?" the stranger asked, grinning. He handed Artemis back to her, who looked very disgruntled and upset at being held in such a disgraceful manner. Serenity took him silently, lifting him high enough to hide the grimace on her face. She gave the man a cold glare over Artemis's head before deciding not to argue and allowed his comment slip by unchallenged.

"Thank you," she said stiffly. "Uhh...,"she paused, waiting for him to provide a name. Disappointment flashed in the man's eyes for a moment, but he quickly grinned. "What? Forgotten me already?" he asked, pouting. Confused, Serenity cocked an eyebrow at him. _I'm pretty sure I've never met a man this rude before... _She opened her mouth to tell him so, but- "Tsu_ki_ko"

Serenity gasped, _No one has called me that since..._ "Chi—Chiharu?"

The man—Chiharu_had been watching Serenity with heightening amusement as she slowly realized who he was. He laughed and swept her a now, "Here at last."

"Chi-chan!" Serenity cried. She put Artemis down and rushed forward to hug him. "I missed you so much!" she mumbled into his chest.

"I missed you too," he said softly, resting a hand on top of her head, "I thought you had forgotten me Tsukiko." Serenity looked up surprised, "I didn't forget you," she told him. "_Although_ if someone didn't write for _three_ years, _other _people would have forgotten _them_." She said accusingly and stepped back to glare at him.

Chiharu reddened slightly, "Tsukiko," he began, "I-."

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Serenity asked, acting innocent. Chiharu sighed, annoyed she wasn't letting him explain.

"Tsukiko," he began a little sternly, "If you'd just listen to-"

"Three years Ayuzawa!" Serenity said, clearly not listening to him. She held up three fingers and shook them in Chiharu's face. "Three! You could have at least written and told me you hadn't died or something!" Chiharu opened his mouth to retaliate, but Serenity spoke over him. "all I got were three lousy birthday wishes scribbled on scraps of parchment! And they weren't even birthday wishes, they were insults! Every year I received at least one insult from you! What was the last one? Ah yes! _'I hope they fixed your hair and your freakishly large teeth because you're never going to get married with that face!'_ How pleasant! You didn't even write Happy Birthday!" Serenity said indignantly. Her blue eyes focused intently on Chiharu, glaring him down. She seemed to be so infuriated that she had ranted herself into silence. Chiharu took advantage of the break in her tirade and quickly took the opportunity to defend himself, "I did too!" he insisted. "I wrote it before my name!"

"What? The scribbles you can hardly read?"

"It's not my fault you never learned how to read," he said snidely.

"Well then, I guess I should be glad you had the decency to write you name," Serenity said exasperatedly. "You'll never change," rolling her eyes she grabbed his hand and started puling him though the crowd. "Let's go."

"Done so soon?" Chiharu asked, looking at her skeptically.

"Not yet, you'll experience my wrath later. Unless you're planning to vanish again?" She looked back at Chiharu, sardonically raising an eyebrow. He shook his head and smiled slightly, "I didn't-," he began, but she cut him off. "What have you been doing for the past three years?" she asked.

Chiharu shrugged, "not very much. I was just working."

"Mmm-hmm, that sounds wonderful," she replied vaguely. She seemed troubled by something. They walked a long in silence a little longer until Serenity turned back to Chiharu with a question on her lips, but stopped when she saw that he had spoken at the same time. "Sorry," she said, "go on." Chiharu grinned and shook his head, indicating for her to continue. "No, no," she exclaimed, "it's alright, go on. It'd be better to ask later." Another silence fell upon them, as they continued to walk through the crowd. He let the silence stretch a little longer to allow her time to finish up her thoughts before asking curiously, "how are you?"

Serenity looked up at him startled, "huh? Oh, I'm fine I suppose. How are you?" Chiharu ignored her, "and this?" he asked. "How do you feel about this?" He gestured around them.

"This?" Serenity asked, knitting her eyebrows. "This, I don't know... It's something that has to happen, right? The outcome never changes. This is just trying to increase the chances I suppose."

Chiharu had been staring at Serenity intensely as she had been talking, but by the time she looked back up at him, his face adopted a cool expression. He acknowledged her answer with a nod, but still appeared unsatisfied. "And if that changes?" he asked nonchalantly, watching her expression. Serenity looked at him, confused by the subtle double-meaning she thought she heard. "Your chances," he clarified mistaking her look of confusion as lack of understanding.

"I'm not sure that will happen," Serenity said slowly, still wondering about Chiharu's seemingly casual words.

"You aren't?" he asked, amused.

"No, I am not," Serenity said snappily, reacting to the change in Chiharu's tone.

Through a space between two people she saw a familiar person waving at them. "Look! It's them, it's the girls!" Serenity exclaimed, pointing in a direction ahead. Grabbing Chiharu's hand she began leading him toward them. He jumped, surprised at the contact, but followed. With a grin spreading across his face he asked hopefully, "The girls?" Serenity gave him a reproachful look, "try not to startle them."

"We're all best friends, they adore me," he said, waving away her comment. "...except Sirius..." he added sheepishly as an after thought.

"Sirius doesn't like you? When did this develop?" Serenity asked curiously.

"Uhhh, since she wrote a ten-page letter about how much of a jerk I was two-and-half years ago," he explained with a mixture of chagrin and amusement.

"What?" Serenity asked, laughing, "did you reply?"

"No," he said uneasily, unable to meet Serenity eyes. She gave him a suspicious look, but turned away without comment. Chiharu let himself relax a little. He had been expecting her to ask more questions and sped up a little to match her new pace.

Serenity waved and beckoned them to come meet her. "Girls, look who came to see us!" Serenity said, smiling.

"Vega gasped and Epsilon exclaimed, "Chiharu-san!" Polaris smiled at him, but Sirius glared disapprovingly.

"Hello girls," Chiharu said, greeting them with a grin. "How are you all?"

"We're all fine," Vega said, "how are you? How was your trip?" Interested, they all moved in closer, surrounding Chiharu and Serenity. "Did you get everything you needed done?" Vega gushed. "You said you were almost done and in your last letter you said-" she stopped abruptly. Gasping, her hands flew to her mouth and she looked at Serenity and Chiharu. Chiharu's eyes had been getting bigger and bigger as Vega rambled and he had been frantically trying to tell her to stop talking with jerks of his head, but it was too late and Vega already had sunk him.

His shoulders hunched in, braced for impact and he slowly turned to look at Serenity, apprehensive and ready for rebuke, but his heart lurched horribly when he saw tears pooling in her eyes. Her bottom lip started to tremble, but she took a deep breath and steadied herself.

Chiharu, radiating guilt, reached out to touch her shoulder. "Serenity..." he began, but she slapped his hand away forcefully with a loud SLAP!

"You weren't supposed to hide anything from me," Serenity said to him quietly, conscious of the people surrounding her. Her ocean-blue eyes glared at him accusingly, a little glassier than normal. She broke their gaze and pushed past him, attempting to retain some poise.

Vega looked mortified, her hands still covered her mouth. She didn't lower them, but apologized with her eyes, scared of escalating the situation further. Chiharu gave her a soft smile and gently put his hand on top of her head reassuringly. He sighed and moved past them to find Serenity again.

As soon as he disappeared from view, Epsilon smacked Vega on the back of her head. "What were you hoping to achieve by that?" You can never keep you mouth shut, can you?" Vega removed her hands from her mouth and moved them to the back her head, "I know," she wailed, eyes watering. "I didn't realize!"

"You never do!" Epsilon exclaimed, rebuking her twin. She rolled her eyes at her and sighed, turning away. Polaris smiled at them fondly and started shepherding them away so they didn't attract attention, sort of like a mother cat.

Chiharu cursed his bad luck. He thought he had avoided the worst of it, but it backfired and he didn't know how he was going to smooth this over. "Tsukiko," he called, but she appeared not to have heard him. He watched her walk obstinately through the crowd, not watching her path. She was obviously distracted because she didn't see a young man step in front of her and walked straight into his back. Chiharu sighed and started walking towards her, but stopped when the young man turned around with a surprised expression, but broke into an unpleasant grin when he recognized her.

Worried, Chiharu started moving faster, but realized he wouldn't be fast enough. "Tsukiko!" he cried, waving his hands in the air and not caring how silly he looked. He thought she hadn't heard him, but she turned at his voice and glared at him. Her gaze cut through the crowd.

He waved his hands again, but she gave him a withering look and took the young man's hand and turned away from him. The young man curious, followed her gaze to meet Chiharu's eyes. He looked at him interestedly, but started in surprise when he felt her take his hand. Smiling warmly this time, he took her hand securely and led her away, raising his eyebrows at Chiharu as they left, disappearing into the crowd.

Sighing, Chiharu ran a hand through he hair, making it stand on end. "...Tsukiko..."


	9. Chapter 8

Happy Holidays everyone! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Nikolaos looked uninterestedly at his partner. She was talking about her childhood and the escapades she had gotten into. He supposed she thought them exciting, but he didn't really care either way. He nodded intermittently, lulling her into the false impression that he was paying attention. Occasionally he would laugh quietly at the jokes she tried to slip in, other than that the conversation ran itself. Overall, he would say, a very boring dance partner, but there was nothing he could do. Nikolaos was forced to while away time until he found the princess again; who had mysteriously disappeared. He chose to dance because it seemed futile to look for her through the dense crowd, and dancing gave him an easy view of the entire room and he turned frequently enough that it was no problem to scour the room from all sides.

They only down side were the girls. They prattled on about unnecessary things and all of them flirted shamelessly with him. They batted their eyes so much so much, it seemed as though they all had an unfortunate twitching problem. Nikolaos breathed through his nose heavily, expression briefly turning murderous.

He heard a nervous giggle from the girl he was dancing with, she seemed to have noticed his displeased expression. He looked down at her with a smile, hoping she would write it off as her imagination, but the damage was already done. She smiled back timidly and looked relieved as the dance came to an end. The girl curtsied quickly and left, leaving Nikolaos extremely amused. i_Oops_/i, he thought. He shrugged and walked away, still looking for the Princess, when he saw a woman gazing intensely in his direction from the corner of his eye. She was wearing a low-cut flaming red dress; her waist length hair was unbound and close in color to his. It caught the light spectacularly, gleaming every which way she turned; at least it would if she stopped staring at him and moved! He brown eyes, almost black at this distance, never left him and Nikolaos had the impression she had been watching him for a long time. That thought disturbed him and he shook it off quickly, breaking eye contact with her.

Nikolaos slipped into the crowd, hoping to lose the woman and her unwavering gaze. He flitted and darted around people, trying to escape her gaze, but still felt her following him with her eyes. Stumbling around a man, he suddenly fell into a small clearing devoid of people. Alarmed by his sudden isolation he moved to step back into the crowd when he saw her. The Princess. With a…cat on her head it seemed… i_What in the name of…?_/i

The Princess was struggling, trying in vain, to pull the cat off her head. Nikolaos snorted, amused. i_At least she was entertaining…_/i He moved toward her, thinking perhaps he could gain her favor by helping her, but ran into someone.

"Oh, sor—, " he started to say, but stopped when he met a pair of brown-black eyes. The woman smiled at him.

"So sorry sir! Were you in a hurry?"

"Ah, just a little, if you would excuse me please." Nikolaos made to move past her, but the woman stepped slightly to the left, just enough to block his way. Smiling disconcertingly she asked him: "Were you looking for someone?" The way she looked at him made Nikolaos uneasy; something felt odd about this woman. The uneasy feeling, the piercing glare, and for a moment, he could have sworn her eyes flashed red. He felt as if he had met this woman somewhere…

"No," he lied. "I wasn't looking for someone, but incidentally, I feel as if I've seen you somewhere. Have we met before?"

The woman tilted her head, genuine confusion coloring her eyes. "No, where did you get that idea?" she asked sweetly.

"Hmm…nowhere…I'm sorry, I must be mistaken. Pardon me." Nikolaos bowed and stepped around her. He looked at the spot where Serenity was, but saw she was gone. Nikolaos cursed internally and spun around in a quick circle, hoping to find her. The woman smiled at him. It was sweet on the surface, but really mocked and ridiculed him. i_Don't fail Nikolaos, don't lose her,_/i it seemed to be saying. "Goodbye," she said sweetly and swept him a curtsy.

"Goodbye," he said distractedly, automatically returning her curtsy. As soon as she walked away Nikolaos immediately walked to where he had seen Serenity last, but she was nowhere to be found, swallowed by the crowd again. "Damn it!" Nikolaos swore to himself. i_What am I supposed to do now?_/i

Nikolaos could feel the anger building up inside him again. He was wasting time, he knew it, but there was nothing he could do right now. Releasing his fists from their clenched position, he walked away, not knowing where he was going. He wandered, wondering how he could get her alone once—if—he was able to talk to her. He made his way back to the edge of the dance floor, slowly walking around its fringes, observing the dancing couples pensively. i_Maybe I can ask her to…_/i His thoughts trailed off, devising new ways to get her alone. His scheming was interrupted however, when something collided into his back. i_What?_/i He turned around, surprised. i_Who?_/i But his surprise turned into glee when he saw two ocean blue eyes glaring up at him.

"Forgive me," she said politely, but she couldn't hide her grimace as she heard her name being called.

"That's alright," Nikolaos said happily. He hadn't expected her to walk right into his arms. "Princess," he started, "would you like to dance with me, since we weren't able to before?" Nikolaos extended one hand towards her in invitation. She looked at him, eyes calculating, and glanced behind her, an ugly look on her face. Nikolaos raised his eyebrows, surprised by her sudden hostility. He was curious as to who could have incited such a strong reaction in her. His eyes met with a tall man that looked older than him, maybe a year or so, with messy blond hair and warm brown eyes. He looked at him in interest for a moment before he felt something warm touch his hand. Nikolaos felt his eyes widen at the contact and looked down at his hand in surprise, but grasped it tightly, making sure she wouldn't disappear all of a sudden. He smiled down at her graciously and led her onto the dance floor.


	10. Chapter 9

I don't own Sailor Moon, but I do own all my sweet babies *coughcough Chiharu and Nikolaos coughcough* :D

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Serenity stared straight ahead, resolutely ignoring Chiharu's faint calls. She was fuming on the inside. Why _hadn't_Chiharu written to her? Why everyone else _but_ her? She thought of Vega's innocent words: _"In your __**last**__ letter…"_ That made it sound like they had been in contact for quite some time! Serenity didn't want to admit, but her heart burned with jealousy. She had been just as worried as everyone else when Chiharu had suddenly vanished three years ago. She remembered crying and not being able to sleep every night for almost six months before Chiharu's parents took pity on her and told her where he had disappeared to. She had written countless letters to him after she found out where he was staying-_ But not one reply_, she thought bitterly.

Serenity was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't realize she had an obligation to dance until she felt a warm hand settle on her waist. She looked up in surprise and met the stormy purple eyes of the man who had so preoccupied her thoughts before, but for some reason his name had slipped from her memory…

"Thank you for doing me the honor of accepting my hand for a dance Your Highness," he said. He violet eyes smiled down at her. Serenity nodded, hoping that it seemed regal and sophisticated. She never knew how to respond to comments like that; somehow "you're welcome" never seemed appropriate enough…

The conductor raised his silver baton and straggling couples rushed to position themselves on the dance floor. As the violins started, Serenity's mind wandered again and she let her feet move automatically, hoping her intensive dancing lessons would pay off. When no imminent threat of embarrassing herself arose, she let her mind slip back to Chiharu, but a soft voice pulled her back.

"If I may be so bold Your Highness as to ask you if something is unsettling you?" Serenity started and glanced up at the owner of the voice. He was looking down at her with what seemed to be genuine concern in his eyes. She colored under his intense scrutiny. _I'm being so rude_, she thought, _I shouldn't be ignoring his like this!_

"Oh no! There is nothing wrong!" She tried to inject cheer into her voice, but the man seemed to realize she was lying.

"Has someone hurt you?" he persisted. Serenity's eyes widened. She seemed to have a small epiphany. Maybe she had hurt Chiharu. Maybe that's why he had ignored her! It was because she had done something before he left and now he was furious with her! She nodded to herself, convinced that she was right. _I'll go apologize to him as soon as I get the chance!_ She glanced back up at the man. He was looking at her expectantly. Realizing he still wanted an answer, she said, "No, no one has hurt me." _But I may have hurt someone_, she thought to herself. Serenity bit her lip and looked at the floor.

The man stayed silent, but deftly started spinning them through the crowd, weaving through the dancing couples towards the double doors that led outside. Serenity glanced up at him, alarmed, but the man smiled down calmly at her.

"E-excuse me, but where are we going?" she asked him.

"Her Highness seemed upset. I thought that bringing her out here would make her happier," he said softly. The man danced them until they were out of the view of the guests inside. He let his hand drop from her waist, and walked over to the lean on the banister of the balcony wall. Serenity stared at him in surprise. She wondered at his boldness in presuming he would be pardoned if he took her away with such a weak excuse, especially without her express permission. If she wanted, Serenity could accuse him of being forward. . . She looked back into the room and examined the blinding lights and the myriad of noisy people, and reconsidered. If she was honest with herself, she had to admit that she had been looking for an excuse to do just this all night. She couldn't bite the hand that fed her.

Serenity shrugged and walked over to the iron wrought banister and leaned on it too. The man looked at her from the corner of his eye, surprised that she had chosen to stay. Serenity gave him a look that clearly said: _Don't ever try that again. _The man's mouth quirked and he turned back to gaze at the softly lit grounds. Serenity followed his gaze, letting her eyes roam over the smooth expanse of the grounds intermittently broken by trees and ornate bushes. Her eyes eventually wandered up to the sky again.

The sky was a deep inky black and was scattered with small pinpricks of light. They looped, swirled, and flowed around the sky, making their own patterns. Nestled amidst these glowing sparks was the Earth. It was a vivid blue and white and was lit up by the sun, which bestowed it with an almost ethereal glow. The white clouds stood in sharp contrast to the deep blue of the ocean. They swirled around the Earth's surface in fantastic shapes.

Serenity sighed. "Isn't it breathtaking?" she asked out loud. The man stared at the Earth pensively and after a moment murmured, "I suppose."

"Oh, but it is!" Serenity insisted. "It's wonderful! It's so warm and sunny! The colors there are amazing, especially when the sun goes down or comes up! Pinks, oranges, yellows, reds! There are so many colors I couldn't even name them all!" She turned to the man, her eyes shining with excitement. He looked confused, however, and looked at her with furrowed eyebrows.

"Sunny?" he asked. "What is that?" Serenity opened her mouth to reply, but hesitated. Her eyebrows furrowed in response to his question.

"It's when you can see the sun and everything is lit up," she said slowly, trying to put it into terms he would understand. He gestured to the twinkling sun in the distance with his chin.

"Like that?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Mmmmm, no. It's not like that at all. It's hard to describe, but humans use it when it's bright outside. So bright they don't need lamps like these," she said, touching the base of a lamp attached to the wall behind them.

"They don't need these lamps?" he asked incredulously. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know," she said and sighed. "I wish I could go back there. My mother only allows me to go once a year though, but I sneak away sometimes." She winked. The man's mouth fell open a slightly when she winked, but he closed it quickly.

"Have you ever been to Earth?" Serenity asked him. He looked at her and shook his head silently. Her eyes rounded, looking like they were going to fall out of her head. "You haven't?" The man shook his head again and a faint smile started to appear on his face.

"Then you haven't even seen real flowers yet!" she cried in disbelief. The man nodded and took a step back, alarmed by her sudden aggressiveness. She shook her head. "Oh, but you have to see them!" she insisted. Serenity stared at him excitedly. Her hands were clasped and she looked like she was trying to hold herself back from pleading. Suddenly she snapped her fingers and pointed at him. The man took another step back, looking at her warily.

"Nikolaos!" she said. "That's your name!" The man gave her frightened look and nodded. "Well come on Nikolaos! I want to show you something!"

Nikolaos started shaking his head, but Serenity reached out and grabbed his hand and pulled him down the stairs that led down the grounds. "Where are we going?" he asked, startled by her sudden closeness.

"The greenhouse. It's right past those trees!" Serenity dropped his hand and started walking at a slower pace. "We have real flowers from the Earth there. My mother set up a special place where the conditions are almost like Earth. That makes it so the trees and flowers and grass there are all natural!"

Nikolaos watched Serenity confidently leading the way in the dark night and slowly started smiling. His face showed a mixture of apprehension and excitement, but he quickly caught up to Serenity, continuing the conversation.

TBC

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Wow, I finally got around to another chapter! Sorry guys! I've been so busy! Now that summer's here, I hope that I'll be able to post more often!

So what did you guys think? Was it good? Sorry, it's taking so long to reach the good parts, but I really want to build up Nicky and Serenity's relationship slowly.


	11. Chapter 11

_Hi everyone! Yes, this story is being continued! Sorry! I can't believe the hiatus this thing took! I wasn't expecting it. Life and other fandoms just got in the way, but I am continuing this story! Sorry, it took so long! i just wanted to say a huge thanks to Princesa de la Luna because she reminded me that people are actually reading this story (honestly I thought people thought it dropped off the face of the planet). Anwya, thank you so much for reminding me! :) Enjoy!_

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Nikolaos followed Serenity across the dimly lit grounds. They walked past gardens of moonflowers and stone, fountains, statues, and even the royal maze, but Serenity didn't slow. After passing a statue of Celena, the first Queen of the moon, Serenity stopped abruptly. Nikolaos looked over the top of her head at the vast expanse of greenery and trees. The colors of the plants were muted, as if something was covering them. Nikolaos reached out to touch the air in front of him curiously, but was met with a resistance. He slowly ran his palm across the air in front of him. The resistance felt as smooth as glass and extended as far as he could reach in every direction. He looked at Serenity inquiringly.

"It's like a dome to protect the garden and preserve the atmosphere," she explained. "This is our greenhouse. Mama made it for me for my twelfth birthday." Serenity reached out and touched the dome with her hand. She gestured for Nikolaos to touch it again. He did. His eyes widened and he touched it again, but there was nothing. It was plain air now.

"It only lets in people I want it to let in," she explained and stepped over the boundary of green plants to the dirt path within. Nikolaos hesitated for a moment and glanced back at the palace. It was half its actual size, which spoke of the distance they had walked. They were truly alone here. No one could see them, no one could hear them. He had been offered an almost fool-proof situation in which to complete his work. He shivered slightly and followed Serenity.

They walked through the various paths inside the greenhouse and Serenity occasionally pointed out flowers to Nikolaos. Most of them were related to a person, like her friends, or her mother, or her father. Nikolaos nodded politely, even though he had no idea why she was telling him all of this. It had nothing to do with him. Although, he thought, it was sweet that she nurtured flowers for her loved ones and not just herself.

"Ah," she crouched down suddenly. Nikolaos almost bumped into her. He found his balance and crouched down next to her. She was pointing at a small spring green plant. Its flower looked like two semicircles glued together at the flat edges. It was slightly open with a delicate pink inside. There were spikes around the curved edges and several small hair-like structures on the inside. It was…interesting? thought Nikolaos. It wasn't pretty, and definitely didn't compare to the other flowers surrounding it. He didn't understand why the Princess had chosen to stop by this one.

"Look," she whispered and picked a small leaf off another plant. She gently brushed one of the hairs on the inside of the plant twice and dropped the leaf as the plant snapped shut. Nikolaos jumped and fell backwards.

"What was that?" he asked, astonished.

Serenity laughed. "It's called a Venus Fly Trap on Earth. It catches bugs and spiders."

"It eats them? How ghastly!" Nikolaos said, giving the small innocuous looking plant a nervous look. Now that he paid attention, the spikes did seem like giant teeth waiting to chomp down on some unsuspecting creature. "Is it possessed?" he asked warily. That was the only explanation for something as unnatural as this he thought.

"No, that's how it is." She stood up and brushed her hands happily. "Isn't that amazing? I have more here." She pointed a little distance away. "I also have pitcher plants. They're not as exciting as Venus Fly Traps, but they eat bugs and spiders as well. Would you like to see?" Nikolaos shuddered. He had never heard of plants eating living creatures. It seemed so wrong. He backed away and just avoided stepping on a Venus fly trap or whatever it was called. Suddenly, her innocent greenhouse seemed to be a house of horrors.

"I wanted a carrion flower, but they tend to smell like rotting flesh, so my Mama said no."

Nikolaos thought he felt his eye twitch. This girl was crazy, he concluded. Flowers that ate insects, maybe even people, and others that smelled of rotting flesh. Earth seemed like a hell, not the heaven she described. Serenity looked at his expression and laughed. "It's alright, they don't harm humans. They're just plants." Nikolaos nodded and gestured back to the path, hoping they could get back to the nice, boring ones.

"I have one last thing I want to show you before we have to get back," she said and took the lead again. Nikolaos's heartbeat sped up. She was talking about returning, which meant he didn't have much time. Their next stop would have to be it. He had to make sure she wouldn't return to the castle. Nikolaos's hands tightened into fists and he took a deep breath, readying to pull his magic to the surface.

She led him to the heart of the greenhouse. They walked through a large white arch decorated with curling vines. Once they stepped through, they were surrounded by roses of every shape and color. The soft scent wrapped around them and Nikolaos unknowingly felt himself relax. This place spoke of warmth, familiarity, and safety. By the bench placed in the middle under a large tree, it was evident the Princess spent most of her time here. There was a comforting feel to the place.

"Roses," he breathed. Serenity looked at him in surprise.

"You know what these are?"

He leaned down and stroked a petal of a deep purple rose fondly. "Yes, I know what these are. They are the only flowers that grow where I'm from." Of course, the roses at his home were gnarled, black, and twisted, but occasionally, a perfect red rose would grow and Nikolaos would save it eagerly.

"They're my favorite," Serenity ventured. She was standing at his side and peering up at him timidly with her hands behind her back. He smiled at her and began walking toward the bench in the middle of the rose garden. She followed him and began explaining the different types of roses she had, which ones she grew for the palace, and which ones were just for her.

He sat down on the bench and she sat on the ground next to a cabbage rose bush. She was explaining how she cared for them and how to make rose oil and water. Nikolaos wasn't paying attention. He watched her back. Water droplets were stuck to her hair and skin. In the soft light of the greenhouse, they were illuminated and made her shine. In that moment, Nikolaos thought he saw the light of the silver crystal in her skin.

He pulled his magic into his hands, feeling them tingle with power. It was odd, he thought, as he raised his hands, how sweet and innocent she really was. Just like one of her roses.

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See that giant box down there? You should write in it. *huge puppy dog eyes* :P


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